Clair, the tiny, white-haired 'Faunus' mouse-woman with a thick Russian accent and a broken arm, was certainly one of the stranger companions that Wayne had ever had to travel with. Strong had her beat by most metrics, but still, she was up there with the mutant and Porter Gage, for the short association he had with the latter.
The 'White Fang' did indeed sound somewhat like the Railroad, if a bit more extreme. The Railroad, until the end of the conflict with the Institute, didn't really act in aggression. They were rescuers, spies, and secret-keepers, only fighting in self-defense if ever at all. Only when Wayne, bellicose and begging for a fight with the Brotherhood, kicked down the door of their hideout did they decide to go to war, and if it weren't for him, they probably would have lost. From what he'd heard, the White Fang was on a similar trajectory. Odd that Wayne had somehow made a habit of associating himself with two organizations dedicated to fighting for the minority, but his life stopped being normal when the bomb landed in Boston.
'Nora must be proud of me,' he thought, smirking at the memory. Some wounds had more time to heal than others, and while he missed his wife and the mother of his son, the Wasteland had made her nothing more than a happy memory from a life that was no longer his. 'She clocked racists in the courtroom, I clock racists in the street.'
"What's so funny there, Wayne?" Clair asked, breaking his concentration. He didn't realize he'd actually chuckled.
"Just remembering something from home," he replied, looking down at her. "You from around here?"
"I'm from an island called Menagerie. Mostly Faunus there, in case you couldn't tell by the name. Was supposed to be our prison. We made it our country. It's where the White Fang coordinate most of their operations."
"Not too shabby," Wayne replied, turning back to the road ahead, a dirt footpath out of the city and into the woods. Unlike his previous trip, he'd been almost entirely ignored on their way to the White Fang's camp- Clair had suggested leaving the armor at home to avoid any unnecessary complications. As such, he only carried his plasma rifle and super sledge on his back, and was otherwise wearing his usual getup. He almost looked normal, save for the weapons and the scraggly, unkempt mop he called his 'hair'. Maybe he could get it cut somewhere around here. "Why are you guys out here?"
"We have a chapter in every Kingdom, who answer to the High Leader in Menagerie. You'll meet our leader once we reach the camp. As I said, he probably won't take too kindly to you at first, but once he hears what you did for me, he may be more willing to accept you," Clair explained. "I won't make any promises, though. He's been… off as of late."
"Off in what way?" Wayne asked.
"He had someone close to him who left us. He didn't take it well, at all. It's rare for someone to leave our family on bad terms, but she did, and he hasn't been the same since."
"Ah, jilted lover. Gotcha. I don't plan on getting involved in any grand, sweeping romantic gestures, Clair. I think I've had quite enough of that in the Commonwealth."
Clair laughed, rolling her eyes and giving Wayne an incredulous glance. "I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. He'd sooner ask you to kill her."
"Well, shit, if he gets me on my way home, I'll consider it."
Clair stopped laughing. Wayne stopped smiling. All-in-all, an awkward moment. Perhaps he was being a little too gung-ho about the whole thing.
"That was a joke," he offered.
"Yeah, yeah, I figured," Clair replied.
"Good, good. Great. Perfect."
The two exchanged a bit more small talk as they made their way through the woods. Clair had wanted to know a little bit more about Synths and the Railroad, and Wayne had obliged her. Told her about Desdemona, Deacon, Tinker Tom, and Drummer Boy, about Ticonderoga and the battle at the Institute, and poor old Glory. Wayne hadn't thought much about Glory in a while. He hoped his fellow heavy had ended up in a good place. She'd damn sure earned it more than he had.
He didn't tell her about Danse. That was one truth that he was going to leave buried if he could help it. No time to try and process stomped-down grief when he was trying his best to be a hero to the downtrodden minority and get back to the Commonwealth alive in the process.
The journey must have been a couple of hours, but with Clair talking to him the whole way, time flew by quick. It felt like maybe thirty minutes when Clair stopped and turned to him, taking on a serious air.
"Like I told you, he's not much of a fan of humans. Show respect, and don't piss him off if you can help it. Try and keep your hands off your weapons. I'll vouch for you. Got it?"
Wayne nodded. "Yeah, no problem. I've dealt with far worse."
Clair gave him a grin, and motioned for him to follow. Within a few minutes, the treeline broke, and Wayne was on the edge of what appeared to be a tent city. A wide clearing, filled with men and women in white and black uniforms, all with animal-like traits similar to Clair's, some with white and red masks of intricate, almost savage design. It seemed less like an organization and more like a tribe- if it weren't for the futuristic-looking weapons some of them were carrying, Wayne could have mistaken them for Raiders.
"Sister, you've returned," one of them, a man with deer antlers greeted Clair, striding purposefully towards them, "but you're badly injured. Should I get Jubicasta?"
"No, brother, thank you," she replied, motioning back to Wayne. "He treated my wounds and helped me return. I owe him a great deal. I'm bringing him for an audience with Adam."
The deer-man turned to look at Wayne, his expression unreadable behind his mask. "Is that so? A Faunus?"
"No, but a brother all the same. Were it not for him, I would not have returned alive."
Wayne gave the deer-man a nod. "Name's Wayne."
"Wayne. A human who would save a Faunus in need." Slowly, the deer-man began to smile. "Some in our camp may hate you, brother, but any who would do such for our kind is family to me. I am Roe."
"Pleasure, Roe," Wayne replied.
"Adam will no doubt be harsh with you, but you must understand that he has his reasons. Show him the kindness you showed our sister, and he will reward you as you deserve."
This 'Adam' guy was already starting to sound like a card. Wayne wasn't exactly excited. "Right."
"Let's go," Clair interjected. "We shouldn't keep him waiting."
With a short bow, Roe was off, and Wayne and Clair returned to their objective. The tent at the center of the camp was guarded on both sides by two men each, and they all regarded Wayne with suspicion when he and Clair approached. One of them ran inside as soon as Clair gave him a nod, and she was quick to follow him, but not before turning back to Wayne.
"Remember," she said. "Show the proper respect."
Wayne offered her a thumbs up, and with that, the doors to the tent closed. Wayne placed his hands in his pockets and looked at the remaining guard, cocking an eyebrow. The guard, about his height, but much slimmer, with scales running down his forearms, tilted his head slightly, but said nothing.
"Alligator?" Wayne asked.
The guard didn't reply, instead tilting his head the other way.
"Crocodile?"
The guard, once again, didn't reply.
"The strong, silent type. Got it."
Wayne returned his attention to the tent flaps just as a massive mountain of a man with a chainsaw on his back opened them. He had arms like tree stumps, scarred like an old oak, with tattoos covering many of them on his left. The moment he met Wayne's eye, he growled like a pissed-off dog. If Wayne were a lesser man, he'd have probably flinched. Seeing as he'd stared down a charging Fog Crawler with nothing but a lever-action rifle and a prayer, it was gonna take more than a guy doing his best dog impersonation.
"Enter," the man said, holding the door open for Wayne to do so. Wayne offered him a smile and stepped in, ignoring the growl he got in reply as he turned to regard the tent's interior.
Before him, a young man with blood-red hair and a pair of small horns sat on a high chair, garbed in a long black coat with a sword on his hip, sheathed in some sort of apparatus that looked almost like a gun. The mask on his face concealed most of his features, but what Wayne could see looked young- very young. The kid couldn't be out of his twenties. This place was getting stranger by the minute.
"Wayne," he stated. Not asked, stated.
"Yeah," Wayne replied, "That's me. You must be Adam."
"I am," Adam replied, leaning forward in his seat. "Clair says that she was attacked by a group of humans in the city of Vale, and that you killed the three of them and dressed her wounds. Is this true?"
Wayne nodded. "Yeah, it is."
"You're a human, are you not? Why would you go to such lengths for a Faunus? You know how we are seen."
"Actually, up until today, I didn't," Wayne replied. "I'm not from around here, if Clair hasn't told you that already. Where I'm from, there are no Faunus. I just saw someone getting the shit kicked out of them, and stood up for them. I'd do it for anybody."
"Is that right?" Adam asked, leaning back. "I don't believe you. I've never heard of this 'Commonwealth' you call home. Tell me about it."
"It's a shit place," Wayne replied, "and there's a lot of shit people in it. Some good people, but they're the minority. People still kill each other over what they are and aren't, so I don't think the Commonwealth is all too different from Vale in that regard."
Adam didn't reply immediately, instead turning to Clair. "Leave us."
Clair nodded, and went to exit the tent, giving Wayne one last smile as she did so. Wayne returned the gesture, before looking back at Adam as he rose from his seat and stepped down to his level.
"I cannot trust you," Adam stated. "You are a human, no matter what else you might be, and one moment of compassion does not make you my brother. Clair may believe you to be our ally, but you don't have to prove anything to her. You have to prove it to me."
Wayne looked up at the leader of the White Fang, unimpressed. For all his height and grandeur, he was still barely a man, trying to lead a revolution, an army. Wayne had watched and seen how that worked out for Maxson. Still, this was his ticket home, at least, from his understanding, it would be. He'd play along with his act.
"I put my life at risk for Clair. I'd do it again. What's left to prove?" Wayne asked, holding his ground.
Adam sneered. "Your worth, for one. My lieutenant will see if you are capable of doing more than dispatching a couple of humans. If you aren't, you die. Simple, isn't it?"
Wayne just smiled warmly, and replied sincerely. "I feel bad for your lieutenant."
If Adam had been having fun grousing him, he was no longer having fun, his expression once again ice-cold as he jerked his head towards the exit. "Go."
Wayne didn't have to be told twice. The lieutenant was holding the flap open for him in one hand, his chainsaw in the other. Wayne couldn't help but wonder just what he thought he was going to accomplish with such an unwieldy thing. Even a Ripper was highly impractical- a full-sized chainsaw was only good in a fight insofar as you caught someone cold, and Wayne was not one to make dumb mistakes that got him sawed in two.
"So," Wayne started, "we're just gonna start swinging in the open, or-"
The rev of the chainsaw interrupted his train of thought, and Wayne dove forward and turned just in time to see the chainsaw swinging clean across where his torso had been. It seemed that the big guy didn't want to play fair. Fine by Wayne.
Rolling to a knee, Wayne pulled his super sledge off his back, hitting the switch and firing up the engine to better lunge at his target, swinging with all his might to bat aside the incoming chainsaw swing in a flurry of sparks, before using his momentum to complete his spin, clocking the lieutenant in the jaw and sending a surge through his 'Aura' as he stumbled backwards, flailing his chainsaw in Wayne's direction to try and catch him coming in. Wayne simply hung back, content to bob and weave out of the way of the blade until he saw an opening- when the Lieutenant went for a backswing, Wayne leapt upward, firing up his sledge and forcing the lieutenant to change direction and block the blow, at the same time leaving him open for a follow-up. As soon as his feet were on the ground, Wayne threw a fierce kick to the lieutenant's gut, buckling him, followed by another, then a roundhouse kick to the head that sent him staggering, where Wayne followed up with a long, looping swing of the sledge that landed flush, cracking the lieutenant's mask and sending him flying backwards with a howl of pain.
As he collected himself, Wayne rested the super sledge on his shoulder, and wiped a bead of sweat off his brow. Mostly from the walk over- he'd met Raiders who gave him more problems than the lieutenant.
"You good, buddy?" Wayne asked, smug, as he swung his hammer back into his free hand and fired up the engine again. "We can stop any time you want."
The lieutenant let out a halting snarl in reply as he clambered to his feet, grasping his chainsaw. Then, he started to chuckle, low and raspy.
"You've got a bark, human, but your bite needs some work," he stated, revving his chainsaw once more and sending orange-and-red smoke belching into the air.
Wayne simply gestured to the chainsaw, grinning like an idiot. This guy seemed easy to anger. Wayne wasn't much of a people person, but he knew how 'buttons' worked. "All those teeth, big man, and you haven't even nibbled me yet. If this is all Adam's got to work with, it's no wonder you're getting jumped in the street."
The lieutenant didn't reply, instead revving his saw again and rushing forward, blade aimed at Wayne's torso. It's like he wasn't even trying. Wayne mentally rescinded his earlier comparison- 'Raiders at least knew when something wasn't working.'
Wayne ducked to the side, the lieutenant sailing past him. Before he could capitalize, the Faunus was already whirling about, aiming a backhanded sweep of his chainsaw to catch Wayne getting greedy. No such luck. Wayne easily weaved out of the way of the swing, before grabbing a firm hold of his sledge and throwing an upswing that knocked the chainsaw out of the lieutenant's hand and sent him scrambling after it, but Wayne wasn't about to let him get that back. With a final burst of flame from the super sledge's exhaust, Wayne tomahawked the weapon into the chainsaw, knocking it away from the lieutenant with a mighty clang as Wayne took off in a dead sprint, ready to put his other weapons to good use. He didn't win all that money in boxing matches in basic by being a tomato can.
"Come on, all this talk about fangs, let's see some claws, big guy," Wayne teased, grabbing the lieutenant by the collar and pulling him to his feet just in time to receive a nasty headbutt that rocked his world and set his ears ringing. The follow up punches stung, but Wayne had been hit a lot harder many a time. When the lieutenant went for a wide, telegraphed uppercut from all the way downtown, Wayne responded with a right hook that buckled him, then a left straight, then a quick weave out of the way of a retaliatory backhand into an overhand right haymaker. The lieutenant's Aura seemed to be fading, if Wayne's experience with the gunman in the alley was any indication, flickering and flaring fiercely with every blow that landed clean. The fight devolved into a slugfest, both men wailing shots at each other that Wayne reckoned would drop a non-combatant with just one. Though the lieutenant was hard, he wasn't Wasteland hard. Even without an Aura, the bruising and bludgeoning only made Wayne more determined, and he was dodging far more shots than he took- the lieutenant couldn't say the same. Still, Wayne couldn't help but be a bit worried by the fact that the guy wasn't even slowing down. That Aura was taking a lot of the punishment for him, and that was a luxury that Wayne wasn't able to afford.
When the lieutenant threw a rounding kick to Wayne's side, Wayne caught it under his arm, intent on ending the fight on his terms. Throwing a kick of his own to the larger man's calf, he toppled him, before diving down with a right hand that rattled his bones, then another, and another, and another, until the lieutenant finally put his hands up and caught one of the blows. Just in time, as evidently, the peanut gallery had seen plenty. Just as well- Wayne didn't have the chems in his system to get into ground and pound with a guy a lot bigger than him that had what amounted to superpowers.
"Enough," Adam barked. "On your feet, both of you."
Wayne looked around to note that he wasn't the only one watching. Many of the White Fang members Wayne had seen around the camp were watching him with rapt attention, with Clair foremost among them, a prideful smile crossing her features as she gave him a slight nod. Wayne returned the gesture with a smile, before to the lieutenant and offering a hand up. He scowled, but took it nonetheless, allowing Wayne to pull him to his feet and give him an amiable pat on the back. "Good effort, big guy."
He answered with a low growl, and the lieutenant returned to Adam's side. Well, Wayne had made an attempt. Turning his attention to Adam, he grabbed his Super Sledge and rested it across his shoulders. "So, have I proven myself yet, or are you gonna need some more convincing?"
Adam shook his head. "No. You may be a warrior, and some among the White Fang may trust you, but I do not make it my business to let my guard down around humans. You are an ally of convenience, nothing more, and you will serve your purpose. Do you understand?"
Wayne shrugged. "And when that's done, you're gonna help me get home. Right?"
"That's not within my power. As it turns out, however, I may have a lead for you in that regard." Adam jerked his head towards the tent. "We're planning a sensitive operation, a surgical strike against our enemies that will shake them to their very core. Play your part in it, and I will get you contact. You have my word."
Not what Wayne wanted to hear, but not the worst idea either. He'd rather just get this over with as soon as possible, but he was shacking up with an organization that hated humans, as...well, a human. He honestly should have expected the chilly reception.
"Alright, Adam," Wayne replied, holstering his hammer on his back. "What is it you need me to do?"
Adam motioned for Wayne to follow him into the tent, and so he did. Once the lieutenant closed the entrance behind them, Adam resumed talking.
"Our newest allies in our struggle are even less trustworthy than you," Adam explained. "You ask for nothing but passage home. These humans intend to use my men as cannon fodder for their plans. They've killed many of my people, through casualty and deliberate action, even going so far as to interject themselves into our own internal affairs, and I will not allow them to conspire in secret any further. One of them has requested more of my men to aid him in preparing for the plan. You will accompany the detail I'm sending him, and ensure that he understands that I am not someone to be crossed. Once that is done, we will begin the preparations for the attack. You will leave as soon as you are able. Clair will be accompanying you and the men I've delegated to this operation to Mountain Glen, where our associate will meet you. You will have to use the underground rail system- be wary of Grimm."
Right. Grimm. The freaky black smoke monsters had to make a reappearance, because nothing in the life of Wayne was ever easy.
"Alright, then, Adam," Wayne replied, "we've got a deal. I'll go set this guy straight, and you get me in touch with someone who can get me on my way. Sounds fair to me."
"It is more than fair. It is by my word alone that you lived to meet my eye. You owe Clair your life, and more, and by extension, you owe it to me. Do not fail."
Wayne smirked. "I don't make a habit of it."
The journey to this so-called 'Mountain Glen' was a long one, and tense all the way through. It was obvious that Adam wasn't the only one with trust issues. While Wayne wasn't much of a smooth talker, he never really saw himself as a shifty guy, but evidently, he fit the bill.
As Adam had said, the only way into Mountain Glen was through rail. Clair had explained on the way to their commandeered train that it had been an attempt to settle new land in the past, an attempt that had failed miserably and fallen to the creatures of Grimm, with its inhabitants entombed inside their own city for the safety of the world at large. Somehow, someway, someone thought it would be a good idea to establish a criminal base of operations there, which honestly wasn't as shocking to Wayne as Clair or her comrades would have expected it to be. He'd seen plenty of stupider settlements in the Wasteland, with not even half as much luck.
Clair and Roe were among the members of the White Fang sent along with him to deliver containers of 'Dust' to Adam's erstwhile ally. That was another thing that had to be explained to him. Apparently, Remnant didn't have the same resources as the Commonwealth. Dust powered their machinery, their cities, and their weapons alike. It was very clear that Remnant was nothing like anywhere on Earth. He was starting to wonder if he was even on Earth, as impossible as that sounded in his head. Stranger things had happened to him, at this point.
The rest of the White Fang with him had neither names nor faces, and seemed to vacillate between ignoring him or staring at him from behind their masks, as if he were some kind of zoo oddity, an aberration to be admired from a distance. Wayne was used to staring, but it still unnerved him a bit.
"We are almost to our destination, brothers and sisters," Roe said, ever gentle, ever quiet. The entire ride, his voice had hardly raised above a whisper. "Remember, Adam wishes that Wayne take the lead in dealing with our allies. Follow his command as if it were Adam's own."
There were a few sounds of approval, some more begrudging than others. Wayne didn't particularly care if anyone wanted to listen to him. He was here to get a job done, to get one step closer on the road to the Commonwealth. Everything else came second.
The rest of the ride was almost silent. Wayne caught a few more nervous glances, but didn't say anything. No need to. Better to avoid ruffling any feathers and giving Adam a reason to distrust him further. Once he did this job, he'd hopefully be on the kid's good side.
The train couldn't have arrived soon enough, in Wayne's humble opinion, finally breaking the silence. They'd moved under the cover of darkness to avoid detection, a single car in the dead of night through winding, barely used and dimly-lit passages until they found themselves in the midst of what appeared to be some sort of supply depot. Judging by the amount of bodies around, it was very, very busy.
"Here we are," Clair said, turning to Wayne. "Take the lead. We'll unload the Dust and wait for your signal if things go south."
"They won't," Wayne assured her, adjusting his jacket. "I'll make sure of that. Just focus on the delivery."
"I trust you. Good luck, brother."
With that, the doors to the car opened, and light and noise flooded in. Chatter about weapon placement, entry points, and rail traffic, questions and answers about the involvement of the White Fang and 'Junior', concerns about interlopers or the possibility of Grimm incursions causing unnecessary casualties, all of it was a bit much for Wayne to take in at once as someone who, not two days prior, had no idea what the hell any of this meant. Thank God he didn't need to- he just had to hand over the Dust, pass along Adam's message, and get out.
Very quickly, it became apparent that it was not going to be that simple. A woman about Clair's size sashayed his way with a sly grin, a parasol tucked behind her back and one eye covered by flowing locks of pink, brown, and white.
He was in the wrong fucking neighborhood, alright.
"So, you're the one I'm supposed to be meeting?" Wayne asked as she craned her neck to look up at him. She didn't seem to be too intimidated by a complete stranger rolling into her mountain, visibly armed and very, very grizzled. If anything, she seemed intrigued.
The girl shook her head, and jerked her thumb back over her shoulder.
"Back there?"
She nodded again.
"Not much of a talker, are you, huh?" Wayne mused, narrowing his eyes at the girl before looking in the direction she pointed. A ways down, in one of the many alcoves of the tunnels surrounding them, men were watching him motioning for him to follow. Wayne did so, watching as both White Fang members and members of whatever group he was meeting with readied weapons, Dust, and other mechanical bits and bobs in preparation for whatever the hell it was Adam was planning. It certainly required a lot of firepower to have all this muscle behind it.
It wasn't long before he found himself in a well-kept, industrial warehouse area, where the guards stopped him and gave him a once-over before motioning him through. Before he could get in the door, the girl with the multicolored hair had already swept past him, strolling into the room as silent as death and giving Wayne a near-stroke in the process.
"Jesus," Wayne grumbled, trudging into the room just in time to be confronted with a large, mechanical automaton standing on the opposite end of the room. In front of it was a man who seemed intent on being the ugliest, most flamboyant thing on the planet by a large margin, dressed in a garish white coat, bowler hat, slacks, and wearing way too much eyeliner. The girl had leisurely made her way to his side and jerked her head to the door, drawing the man's attention to Wayne. If he was at all surprised, he didn't show it.
"I didn't think Adam would ever willingly ask a human to do something for him," the man said, grinning ear to ear as he swung a cane around from his back to lean on and gave Wayne a once-over. "Yet here you are in the flesh. Impressive. How did you manage to convince that piece of work?"
Wayne shrugged. "I have my ways. You Roman?"
"The one and only," Roman repled, throwing his arms out. "Roman Torchwick, at your service. Finally, someone who doesn't have an extra pair of fucking ears and a 'racial justice' hangup. What's your name, stranger?"
"Wayne."
"Wayne, Wayne, Wayne." Roman's grin was almost infectious, emphasis on the 'almost'. It was painfully insincere- the man seemed to think himself King Shit, not that Wayne was here to argue that point. "You're going big time, boy, believe you me. This is bigger than the White Fang, bigger than me, even. We're about to pull the most outrageous stunt in Valean history, and you just happen to get a front row seat… that is, if you brought the goods."
"The Dust is in the car," Wayne replied. "Adam's upholding his end of the deal. What about you?"
"Everything I said I'd do, I'm doing, and more.That being said, I, uh, can't really show you right now. I've got an important date. Me and that suit are going for a joyride."
Roman looked around the room for a moment before pointing his cane at Wayne, his grin growing somehow wider. "What do you say, Wayne? Surely you could stand to stretch your legs, and help out a friend in need in the process?"
Roman was not, and likely never would be, Wayne's friend, but something told Wayne that it didn't matter what he called Roman, he was gonna be stuck with the guy.
"Not interested," Wayne replied. "Adam sent me to make sure that you and your friends aren't trying any more funny business with the White Fang. He doesn't appreciate the way he's being treated, and frankly, I don't blame him. So, Roman. You guys have a deal, well, I have a deal with him, so let's you and me make a deal, yeah?"
Wayne took a few steps towards Roman, who started to retreat in response, his smile taking on a more nervous edge.
"Keep your ducks in a row, and your cards on the table," Wayne stated, "or I'm going to shove them up your ass. Deal?"
Roman put his hands up in mock-surrender. "You got me, Wayne, you got me. You came into the middle of a building filled with my men, specifically, a room containing only you, me, and my most loyal second, and threatened me. You have single-handedly convinced me of the merit of natural selection. I almost want to have Neo run you through right now, but frankly, the lady's wearing me out enough as it is, and I need a place to vent, myself- and I prefer my punching bags to punch back."
"The lady?" Wayne repeated.
"You'll probably run into her sooner than you'd like."
Wayne felt something cold prick him in the back. He assumed that 'Neo', somehow, had snuck behind him. Her utter silence unnerved him- it didn't even sound like she was breathing.
"So," Roman said, lowering his hands and placing them behind his back, stepping up to Wayne. "I've got a counteroffer for you. You stay out of my way, I stay out of yours. I don't care what Adam has you doing, or why you're doing it for him, and I know for a damn fact that he doesn't care if you make it back alive. But I like you, sport. I think you and I can make some magic happen, if you only give it a shot. Come on, Wayne! Instead of spending all your time cooped up with a bunch of filthy animals that want to make externals out of your internals, you work for me, and make a hell of a lot of money, quick. Whaddya say?"
Wayne didn't need to think long. Adam was an angry little runt pretending to be a man of vision, but he seemed unfailingly honest. He made no effort to hide his dislike of Wayne or humankind. Roman was the opposite, hiding his hatred behind a sneer and a jape. Wayne had little respect for snakes, he dealt with them often enough.
He didn't need another Desdemona, let alone one that didn't even act like he had morals.
"I say tell your girl to back off before I break your cane over your thick skull."
Roman laughed, and from behind Wayne, Neo giggled along, the only sound she'd made in the entirety of Wayne's time in Mountain Glen. That unnerved him more than Roman ever could.
"I love this guy, what a card!" Roman exclaimed, throwing an arm around Wayne's shoulder as whatever Neo pressed into his back was withdrawn. "Man, Adam doesn't know what he's missing out on. Neo! Make sure that Dust gets offloaded WITHOUT exploding. As for you, Wayne, you go on and tell Adam that I'm pissing myself in fear, and that I'll never, ever, ever say a single bad thing about his camp full of stray mutts again, swear on the Brother Gods. I'd tell him myself, but, like I said, I gotta take the new ride for a spin."
Roman motioned to the mech. "Come on. Last chance."
"I've had enough giant robots to last a lifetime," Wayne replied, recalling Liberty Prime. Even though he never saw it fully operational, the sight of it, period, was bad enough. "Have fun on your joyride, Roman."
"Oh, I know I will." With a twirl of his cane, Roman turned back to the mech. "I mean, look at it! What could possibly go wrong?"
Wayne rolled his eyes, and left the room, bumping into Neo as he passed. As soon as the Dust was unloaded, he wanted out of Mountain Glen, and, God willing, he'd never come back.